Repeat Offender Arrested Twice in 12 Hours for Package Theft in Edgewater
An Edgewater man, Sammy Batom, found himself in police custody not once, but twice within a span of 12 hours for allegedly stealing packages from residential buildings in the neighborhood.
On February 10, around 7:51 p.m., Batom was arrested after a witness identified him as the perpetrator of package theft in a building near his residence on the 5700 block of North Sheridan, as per Chicago police records.
After being detained for several hours, Batom was released with misdemeanor charges of theft, criminal trespassing, and criminal damage to property.
However, Batom’s freedom was short-lived as he was arrested again just over 12 hours later for a similar offense. This time, a building manager caught him in the act of stealing packages from an apartment complex in Edgewater. Despite attempting to flee by identifying himself as “Michael Jackson,” Batom was apprehended by the police.
The building manager informed the authorities that Batom had been captured on surveillance footage committing similar thefts on January 6 and February 3. She also revealed that Batom used a screwdriver to break into the buildings.
Prosecutors sought to keep Batom in custody, but Judge Luciano Panici, Jr. decided to release him on electronic monitoring instead.
Records show that Batom has been involved in 96 criminal cases in Cook County since 1987, including 14 felony charges. His criminal history includes convictions for burglary, robbery, and narcotics-related offenses dating back to the late 1980s.
Despite receiving court supervision for retail theft in 2023 and having other charges dropped in recent years, Batom continues to engage in criminal activities, particularly targeting residential properties for package theft.
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